Web 2.0and the Social Studies Classroom

Examples in the Lovett Middle School

Former 6th Grade History Teacher ~Jeffrey Morrison ~ Currently A Research Fellow at Georgia State University

Inquiry-Based, Project-Oriented, Student-Centered Classroom (Classroom Home Page)
A variety of web 2.0 tools and a philosophy of education create a uniquely engaging experience for students in Mr. Morrison's American History classes. Morrison facilitates education giving more ownership to the students for creating their learning environment. Students work together to write and podcast historically-grounded fictional accounts on the Civil War, prepare digital presentations on slavery, and comment to writing prompts on the classroom blog, Morrison also utilizes new tools to manage homework and paper-writing using Google Docs.

This slide show in Bubble Share shows traditional presentation methods employed for the projects, but the slide show itself and posted student comments demonstrate the student interest in incorporating these technologies and the virtual conversations they can enjoy asynchronously.

6h Grade (Andy Sayles)

Civil Rights Wiki and Google Maps Application

7th Grade (Ben Posten)

Please see Ben's fall 2007 Latin America Project here. For an overview of the project (how-to for teachers) and a sample presentation: Posten Voicethread Project

7th Grade (Maria Drinkard)

8th Grade (Enright/Janis)

Examples from Other Schools/Classrooms

Many Voices for Darfur
Many Voices for Darfur (wiki)
(Collaborative Project Mayo (8th grade)/ Drexler (3rd grade)
AP Goverment Wiki from Carolyn Foote
Blog on Egypt (Elementary School)
Blog on China (Elementary School)
"Textbook" Created by Students (Upper School) from Clay Burell
Colonization Blogs (Middle School) from Clarence Fisher
Studying Societies Wiki (Middle School) from Clarence Fisher
East Meets West Video From Edutopia
Welker Economics Shanghai International School Teacher/AP Class/Edublogs2007Best Wiki
Fayetteville, AL History Class
Appleby Elementary School-Australia
AP History Class At GAC-Head of School David Fincher's Classroom Blog
US History-Digital Storytelling Vietnam-From Vinny Vrotny, North Shores Country Day, Winnetka